23 April 2014

Former middleweight boxing champion Kassim Ouma has been charged with felony battery after allegedly assaulting a man in Los Angeles on Friday, reports TMZ. The Ugandan-born boxer knocked a man "unconscious" after making "gay advances" on him, according to police reports.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the former IBF junior middleweight champion is telling investigators ... he was hanging out in Hollywood early Friday morning when he struck up a conversation with a guy he just met.

Ouma says the two went back to the other man's home for a drink ... where the guy allegedly made a pass at the boxer. Ouma claims he politely declined multiple advances ... but says when he got up to leave, the guy made one final move -- and Ouma shoved him away. The altercation then escalated ... with Ouma allegedly knocking the guy out cold. Cops were called to the scene -- where the victim was treated and transported to a nearby hospital.

The boxing champ "went to the man's home for a drink." That's an interesting situation, no?

The 35-year-old Ouma was born in Uganda. Ouma has a very compelling personal story and is the subject of the 2008 documentary Kassim the Dream. He was kidnapped at 6-years-old and forced to become a child soldier for the rebel army under the leadership of Yoweri Museveni—who later become Uganda's president and has remained in that position 1986. Ouma was drafted into the army as a teenager, became a boxer in the army's amateur team and applied for political asylum in the United States when he was 18-years-old. Ouma later became the International Boxing Champion Junior Middleweight world champion.

Uganda has received worldwide attention after Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill earlier this year. . The bill punishes same-sex relations with life imprisonment and denies bail to those accused of "aggravated homosexuality."

Emile Griffith's greatest professional victory came at a huge human cost. It was in a nationally televised March 1962 fight with Cuban boxer Benny "The Kid" Paret. Paret mocked Griffith during the pre-fight weigh-in—they are seen above with Griffith at right—and called him a gay slur. Griffith literally beat Paret into a pulp and punched him 17 times in seven seconds. Paret died ten days later. The bloody boxing match became the basis for a decade-long ban on live, network broadcasts of boxing matches.

The 75-year-old Griffith suffered from pugilistic dementia and died at
an extended care facility on Long Island. The cause of death was "kidney
failure and complications of dementia," adds the NYT.

In boxing circles, Griffith had been rumored to be gay, and Paret seized on that to needle him at the weigh-in for their third fight. "He called me maricón," Griffith told Peter Heller in 1972 for “In This Corner: Great Boxing Trainers Talk About Their Art,” a book of interviews with boxing champions. "Maricón in English means faggot."

In 1992, Griffith was severely beaten after leaving a gay bar in the Times Square area, his kidneys damaged so badly that he was near death. The assailants were never caught. "That really started a sharp decline in his health,” Ron Ross, his biographer, said on Tuesday.

Over the years, the questions concerning Griffith’s long-rumored homosexuality kept surfacing. "I will dance with anybody," Griffith told Sports Illustrated in 2005. "I’ve chased men and women. I like men and women both."

That same year, he spoke to Bob Herbert, then a columnist for The Times. "I asked Mr. Griffith if he was gay, and he told me no," Mr. Herbert wrote. "But he looked as if he wanted to say more. He told me he had struggled his entire life with his sexuality, and agonized over what he could say about it. He said he knew it was impossible in the early 1960s for an athlete in an ultramacho sport like boxing to say, 'Oh, yeah, I’m gay.'"

More recently: On Saturday, June 15, The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis performed the world premiere of legendary jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard’s first opera "Champion." Set to a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Cristofer, Blanchard's "Champion" was inspired by the tragic but little-known story of Emile Griffith.

Griffith retired in 1977 with 85 victories, 24 losses and 2 draws. Griffith was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

In October 2012, Puerto Rican featherweight champion boxer Orlando Cruz came out and become the first openly gay, active fighter in the boxing history.

18 June 2013

On Saturday, June 15, The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis performed the world premiere of legendary jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard’s first opera "Champion." Set to a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Cristofer, Blanchard's "Champion" is inspired by the true but little-known story of Emile Griffith, the gay boxer who became the Middleweight and Welterweight Champion of the World in the 1960s.

Emile Griffith's greatest professional victory was in a nationally televised March 1962 fight with Cuban boxer Benny "The Kid" Paret. During the pre-fight weigh-in, Paret mocked Griffith and called him a "maricon", the Spanish equivalent of "faggot."
Griffith literally beat Paret into a pulp and punched him 17 times in seven seconds. Paret died ten days later.

The Grammy Award-winning Blanchard—a prolific composer and film score composer—describes his work as "opera in jazz." Blanchard told the Associated Press that he was fascinated by Griffith's tragic story:

[Blanchard] was inspired to write the opera by a quote from Griffith in the biography: "I kill a man and most people understand and forgive me. However, I love a man, and to so many people this is an unforgivable sin; this makes me an evil person." ...

"It speaks volumes of where we are as a society and how we need to really check ourselves, especially those of us who call ourselves compassionate human beings."

Blanchard agreed to undertake the biggest musical project of his career in part to honor his father who could not realize his dream of being an opera singer in an era when companies didn’t hire male black singers. His father performed with amateur opera groups, and Blanchard grew up listening to opera recordings at his New Orleans home.

Blanchard knows his father would have been “overjoyed” to see that his son had written an opera performed by a largely African-American cast, including Denyce Graves as Griffith’s mother, Arthur Woodley as old Emile and Aubrey Allicock as young Emile. An 11-year-old from St. Louis, Jordan Jones, plays Emile as a boy.

Blanchard also discusses his opera with St. Louis Public Radio. Listen HERE.

Thirty years later after the fight, Griffith was beaten and nearly killed after leaving a
gay bar near Times Square in New York City. Griffith now suffers from
dementia pugilistica and requires full-time medical care. Griffith ultimately came out in a 2008 biography.

In October 2012, Puerto Rican featherweight champion boxer Orlando Cruz came out and become the first openly gay, active fighter in the boxing history.

09 November 2012

Puerto Rican featherweight champion Orlando Cruz is the subject of this week's "Der Spiegel Interview." This is major because the iconic German news weekly is one of Europe's largest publications. The openly gay boxer talks about discovering his sexuality as a teenager in Puerto Rico... and the climate of fear after the brutal killing of a transgender friend.

It's a long interview and probably Cruz's most revealing so far. Definitely read it if you have five or ten minutes.

CRUZ: I was 19 years old. I was boxing at the Sydney Olympic
Games in 2000. I met a man there. And when I got home, I sensed that
something in me had changed. ... I was in a very bad state [b]ecause I wasn't prepared for it. For a long time I didn't
want to accept that I was gay. Better said: I couldn't accept it because
I was too afraid. Homosexuals were discriminated against in Puerto Rico
back then, sometimes even killed. I had a friend named José, but we
called him Linoshka because [she] was [transgender]. [She] was stabbed to
death in the street at the age of 19 by a homophobe because [she] had taken
part in a gay-pride parade.

SPIEGEL: How did you handle it all?

CRUZ: It was a painful path, but I was lucky in that my mother
gave me her support. One year after the Olympics, I explained to my
parents that I was gay. My mother told me she didn't care, and that she
loved me. After that, we both cried for joy. [My father] was more difficult. He was never as sympathetic as my
mother. In the meantime, my parents have separated. During my fight two
weeks ago, my mother was sitting right next to the ring; my father was
up in the stands. But I was happy that he was there at all.

Cruz also talks about the "macho" swager of boxing and where he fits in: "I [want] to prove to people that I am not a girl in the ring. I am a man in every sense of the word."

The 31-year-old boxer came out publicly in early October. At that time he became the first openly gay active fighter in the hyper-masculine sport—well known for its homophobic trash talking and homoerotic subtext. About two weeks later he won his first
boxing match since publicly coming out. Cruz beat Jorge
Pazos in a unanimous decision at a televised bout in Florida.

The seemingly studly new addition to the America's Next Top Model judging panel is a suspect in an assault and battery case and a warrant is currently out for his arrest, the Beverly Hills Police Department confirmed Wednesday to E! News.

Police say that Evans, who is wanted in connection with an incident that allegedly went down in March, had been in touch but has since ceased communicating with them and they are "actively" looking for him.

Contrary to another report, however, the police say they have not dispatched a special fugitive team to find Evans. The former boxer is facing a charge apiece of battery with serious injury and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. Bail attached to the warrant was set at $150,000.

24 October 2012

Puerto Rican featherweight champion Orlando Cruz talks to HBO's Real Sports about his decision to come out as boxing's first openly gay active fighter. "I would cry every day before and after the gym and think, 'Oh my God, help me'," Cruz tells Jon Frankel on the pressures of being closeted.

Why at this point in his career? "Because I want respect in the ring and outside on the street. ... I'm glad I did this. I'm very, very happy," said Cruz.

Cruz won his first boxing match since publicly coming out on Friday. The boxer beat Jorge Pazos in a unanimous decision at a televised bout in Florida. Cruz discussed his decision to come out in a brief interview with ESPN senior writer and CNN contributor LZ Granderson after that match.

Scores were 118-110 (twice) and 117-111 in favor of Cruz, who made headlines earlier this month in becoming the first openly gay active male boxer. While the news helped generate more press than is normally afforded for a Telemundo-level fight these days, the two boxers were all business throughout the promotion. Once the opening bell rang, who does what with their personal lives was left in the rearview mirror and it was all about who was the better fighter. [...]

On this – and perhaps any other – night, it was Cruz and with room to spare. The Puerto Rican southpaw mastered the art of hit-and-don’t-get-hit all evening, jumping out to a huge lead early as Pazos struggled to even lay a glove on his opponent.

In a vacuum, the win hardly rates compared to what else Cruz has been able to accomplish both as a pro and amateur, including a tour with the 2000 Puerto Rico Olympic boxing squad. Some will argue the real victory was the fact that he made it to the ring at all for this fight, given the general machismo that comes with a sport that in several areas remains in the dark ages.

Cruz became the first openly gay active fighter in the macho and hyper-masculine sport—well known for its homophobic trash talking and homoerotic subtext. The 31-year-old Cruz is now 19-2-1 (9KO) with the win. Bonus points: The crowd went absolutely crazy when Cruz was introduced.

04 October 2012

Puerto Rican featherweight champion boxer Orlando Cruz has come out and become the first openly gay, active fighter in the sport's history. The 31-year-old Cruz represented Puerto Rico in the Sydney 2000 Olympics and boasts a strong professional record of 18-2-1.

Cruz said that he hopes to become a "role model" for youth, reports USA Today.

"I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man."

Cruz began boxing at the age of 7 and posted an amateur career record of 178-11. He won 7 Puerto Rico National Title’s and spent 4 years on The Puerto Rican National Team. Cruz won 7 Gold Medals, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze in various international tournaments. His amateur career culminated as a representative of the 2000 Olympic Team in Sydney, Australia. 2000 Olympic teammates included former world champions Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon.

Cruz made his professional debut on December 15, 2000 and won his first world title on March 22, 2008 and a regional title on October 14, 2011 (WBO Latino Featherweight title). His next fight is scheduled for October 19 in which he will defend his WBO NABO title against Jorge Pazos.

A win against Pazos should position Cruz for a bid to become the world champion in his division. But first the newly-out boxer will sit down next week with Telemundo for an exclusive interview.

Cruz becomes the first openly gay active fighter in the macho and hyper-masculine sport—well known for its homophobic trash talking and homoerotic subtext.

Former welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith came out as bisexual in a 2005 interview. Griffith's personal career includes one of the most controversial professional boxing fights: A notorious fight-to-death with Cuban fighter Benny Paret in March 1962 at Madison Square Garden. Griffith literally beat Paret into a pulp and he died 10 days later. Paret apparently called Griffith a "maricon", the Spanish equivalent of "faggot."

The incident became the basis of the 2005 documentary Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story. In 1992, Griffith was viciously beaten and almost killed after leaving a gay bar in midtown Manhattan.